As Tesla was "resisted" and a large number of violent incidents and a sharp drop in stock prices, CEO Musk said in a earnings call held on Tuesday that he would reduce his time at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and allocate more time and energy to Tesla's business. This gave investors a sigh of relief.

However, the White House does not seem to agree. According to reports, a White House official who declined to be named told the media that he expects Musk to still spend a lot of time on DOGE and his agenda to support President Trump.

"Elon didn't say he would quit 'DOGE' altogether. He would still work here and devote a lot of time to ensure the president's plan was successful. So Elon wouldn't go anywhere, and 'DOGE' wouldn't go away," he said.

Musk is currently classified as a so-called Special Government Employee (SGE), i.e. "Officers or employees appointed to perform temporary duties, paid or unpaid, and their term of office shall not exceed 130 days for 365 consecutive days." Assuming that the 130-day period starts on January 20, this means that Musk's SGE qualification will expire on May 30, with more than a month left.

Regarding whether Musk will really shift his focus back to Tesla, Trump replied earlier this month: He expects Elon Musk to eventually return to his company after reforming the federal government.

When asked if he wanted Musk to stay in office for a longer period of time, Trump said he (Musk) wanted to return to his company.

"I think he's amazing, but I also think he's going to run a big company. Someday he'll go back. He wants to go back, too. As long as I can keep him, I'll keep him. He's a very talented person."

In addition, also earlier this month, a senior administration official revealed that Musk may retain the informal role of adviser and continue to appear at the White House occasionally. The transition is likely to mark the end of Musk's era as a "special government employee," people said.

Tesla reported revenue and earnings per share lower than Wall Street expectations on Tuesday local time, but the news of Musk's return to the company made shareholders happy, and traders pushed Tesla's share price higher. Tesla's stock price has been hit hard this year since Musk began spending most of his time on DOGE.

"Maybe starting next month, the time I allocated to DOGE will be significantly reduced. The 'main work' of establishing the DOGE department has been completed," Musk said on the same day.

However, even if Musk switches to "part-time", both scholars and those who support/oppose DOGE's work believe that the Trump administration's efforts to cut budgets will continue to move forward rapidly.

Nick Bednar, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota Law School, has been tracking government layoffs, and he believes government agencies are unlikely to revoke the cuts already made by DOGE.

"A lot of the things that DOGE does have been digested internally by many of these institutions, and it will continue to move forward. It's like a train that has left the station and it's hard to stop," he said.

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